Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Happay Halloween! This is my fave holiday! I dressed up as some sort of wild cat. I have one a leopard print dress.

I think my boss is cool with it. Oh well!

I also did a three strad twist out on my hair. I have mixed feelings about it. For one, my hair is still not that long. I feel that it would have looked better if I had longer hair. 3 strand twists results in really defined curls. Next, It took about twice as long as a regular two strand twists. Last I was at my BF house when I woke up and I did not have all the proper hair tools so maybe I could have done something else with it if I had been at home. At any rate, this is my Halloween look. You can see a vid on how to do a three strand twists below.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

So I am off work. I have a little more free time than normal. So I decided to go grocery shopping and cook. I was quickly reminded why I don't cook that much. I don't mind cooking. I love cooking. I hate cleaning up. That is why I usually cook at my BF house. He cleans up (usually).

Today I made plantains, coconut rice, and spinach seasoned with thyme and garlic, salt and pepper. It was a simple meal but very tasty.

First I chopped half an onion, half a tomato, and one clove of garlic.

Next I sliced the plantain diagonally. This sticker was on it. I thought it was cute!

The onions and garlic were sauteed.

At this time I also started cooking the plantain. I used coconut oil and fried them over med heat.

Next I added tomatoes to the onions and garlic. I also added thyme, salt and pepper,and red pepper for spice.

I added the spinach. This is one of those pre washed spinach box thingys. It seems like a lot...

...but this is what it amounts too lol.

Lunch is served!

To make the coconut rice I just put a can of coconut milk in the rice cooker instead of water. The sweetness balanced out the spiciness of the spinach. I have eaten...Now I am ready for a nap. Till next time!

Monday, October 8, 2012

Well...it is fall. I hate cold weather. I am a tropical girl. I am always freezing. It wreaks havoc on my skin. My skin used to be perpetually dry until I discovered the wonders of shea butter. Now winter is bearable.

I want to share a recipe I use to keep my skin from being dry in cold weather.

The tools needed are a stove, a small pot, and a measuring cup that can be boiled. I used a pyrex cup.

I boiled some water and placed the cup in the water

My main ingredient is shea butter. I had a ex who ships stuff to and from Africa. He got me a whole ball of shea butter. I have had this for at least three years and only made a small dent in it.

I also have various oils and butters that I use to make the shea butter more spreadable. Today I used a little jojoba oil, almond butter, olive butter, and coconut oil. I get most of my supplies from soapgoods.com. The almond butter used is not the kind that you eat from a grocery store. It is this kind used for cosmetics. You can find and example here.

I added the shea butter to the cup and let it melt. I added 10 oz.

When it melted I added the jojoba oil. It was not that much.

Next I added 2 spoonfuls of almond butter.

I added one spoonful of olive butter. I olive butter is kinda grainy so i usually don't add much of it.

Finally I added enough coconut oil to make 2 cups of liquid. As you can see this is not an exact science lol.

Here are my tins that I use to put the butter in. I reuse them over and over till they break. Each one can hold 8 oz.

I use this strainer to filter the shea butter. Sometimes it had bits of I don't know what in it.

Poured in the butter. I had a little left over so I have these tiny tins I use. They are great to take on the go. I take one if I am traveling or to work with me.

All done! In all the process took about 10 mins. You can use it while it is liquid or wait for it too harden. To make it harden faster (that's what he said) you can put it in the fridge. If you want to add essential oils or other smell good oils I would add when the butter had cooled some otherwise it is going to burn off while the butter is hot. I usually just keep the natural smell.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

This past weekend was the Hotlanta Salsa Congress in Atlanta. My dance group Nashville Rueda had a performance. I had to mentally and physically prepare myself for it and for the weekend full of dancing. I partied till 3am + every night. Met lots of wonderful people, saw lots of old friends, got inspired, improved my dancing, and had a wonderful time.

So I am currently obsessed with this dance called Kizomba. It is from Angola and is danced to Zouk music from Martinique, Guadalupe, and Haiti. I took a few workshops from Kizomba NYC and I am working hard to bring it to Nashville. Here are a few clips from the workshops:

Her name is Annie and his name is Joel. They are Haitian.

Annie and Ivo. I think he is Brazillian but not sure.

This weekend we were going to have a perfromance in Knoxville, however, it will probably by cancelled. I had a death in my fam and a few other team members had some things going on. The next weekend we will be in ATL again for the MySalsa Festival. I am super excited. Last year the festival was super fun and this year will be even better. That was where I learned how to dance Palo and where I met the awesome Daybert. They have classes in Kizomba, Casino, and afro-cuban dance. If you are in the area you should stop by.

When I go to ATL I will get to dance with my friends Else and Patrice from Martinique, Daybert and Lena from Florida, Chris form NY, and all my peeps in ATL. Look for more vids﻿ to come! Maybe I will take a vid of my dancing lol.